Chicago case alleges ties to North Korea

CHICAGO (AP) — A Taiwanese businessman long suspected of ties to North Korea and his Illinois-based son have been charged in Chicago with seeking to bypass a U.S. ban on the export of weapons machinery to the hard-line communist nation, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Hsien Tai Tsai, 67, and his 36-year-old son, Yueh-Hsun Tsai, are charged with one count each of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in its enforcement of laws prohibiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago said.

The statement suggests a wider investigation.

Federal agents have been investigating the two Tsais and a network of companies on suspicion of trying to export goods and machinery from the U.S. "that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction," it said.

The father, who lives in Taiwan, was arrested on Wednesday in Tallinn, the capital of the Baltic Sea-coast nation of Estonia. The statement from prosecutors doesn't speculate about why Hsien Tsai was in Estonia, though it says U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition. The son, a legal U.S. resident, was arrested on the same day last week at his home in suburban Glenview, just outside Chicago, according to prosecutors.

The arrest comes as North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, has faced international criticism over its nuclear and weapons-development programs. The federal complaint released Monday doesn't offer details about which weapons systems the machinery could have benefited.

The elder Tsai, who also goes by Alex Tsai, fell under suspicion of U.S. authorities at least as far back as 2008, when he was convicted in Taiwan of forging shipping invoices and illegally shipping restricted materials to North Korea, the U.S. Department of Treasury said in press release at the time.

Treasury officials accused him of shipping items to North Korea that could be used to support its advanced weapons program, and the department in 2009 placed a wide-ranging prohibition on him doing any business in or with the United States. The ban applied to him and several Taiwanese-based companies he helped run, including Trans Merits Co. Ltd. and Trans Multi Mechanics Co. Ltd., the complaint says.

It was the alleged bid to skirt the 2009 prohibition, with the son's alleged help, that led to the charges in Chicago. Among the items they allegedly conspired to export was what prosecutors described as "a Bryant center hole grinder," which is used to drill precise, smooth holes through elongated metal, the compliant says. The machinery got to Taiwan, but the complaint doesn't indicate if it might have reached North Korea.

Yueh-Hsun Tsai, who also goes by Gary Tsai, appeared in a federal courtroom in Chicago on Monday. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox agreed to his release on $500,000 bond. He will be confined to his home and will be under electronic monitoring.

Speaking to reporters later on Monday, the younger Tsai's attorney insisted the machinery involved was "unsophisticated."

"And there is no allegation Mr. (Yueh-Hsun) Tsai knew it was destined for North Korea," the attorney, Ted Poulos, said. He added about the business deals involved, "It amounts to a rather benign business transaction."

In addition to the count of conspiracy to defraud U.S. proliferation laws, the father and son each face one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of money laundering. The count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, while violating the economic powers act and money laundering each carries a maximum 20-year term.

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Via Yahoo News!

Chicago Hull House closing for lack of funds

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago's historic social services agency Hull House, founded well over a century ago by pioneering social reformer Jane Addams, will close by the end of March due to a lack of funds, the board chairman said on Thursday.

"We are no different than anybody else in the world right now," Hull House board chairman Stephen Saunders said. "We're suffering with this economy."

Saunders said the social service agency has millions of dollars of debt and has not been able to raise enough money to cover operating costs, having fallen short of fundraising goals by $1 million or more annually for the past three or four years.

"It's insurmountable," Saunders said of the situation.

Jane Addams, also a leader in women's suffrage, was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She and her associates influenced policy on public health and education, fair labor practices and immigrants' rights.

She founded Hull House in 1889 to provide services mostly to the city's immigrant community. The current Hull House Association serves 14,000 people, with programs in early childhood development, child welfare and family services such as domestic violence counseling.

Saunders said Hull House was arranging for other social services providers, such as Metropolitan Family Services, to take on Hull House's clients and employees.

"The 14,000 people we serve aren't going to be thrown out on the streets," Saunders said.

Metropolitan Family Services Chief Executive Ric Estrada said the agency was willing to help but was waiting to find out from sources like the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois how funding will be distributed.

"There's a lack of funds all around," Estrada said. "Every place is stretched."

Saunders, describing Addams as "essentially the mother of social services in the city," said another agency would probably apply the Jane Addams Hull House name to one of its programs.

Hull House is not affiliated with the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, which is located in the original settlement house on the city's near south side.

(Reporting By Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Storms leave 300,000 without power in Chicago area

Tuesday night's storms in the Chicago area blew trees and limbs onto vehicles and power lines.Rain and thunderstorms batter the areaSome in Illinois could go days without power More than 380 flights are canceled at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports

(CNN) -- More than 300,000 electric customers were without power early Wednesday morning in Chicago and its suburbs, electric company Commonwealth Edison said.

Spokesman Bennie Currie said while crews are working to restore power, it could take days to return service to all customers.

Did you experience severe weather in the Chicago area? Share your story.

"The severe storms that passed through our service territory caused extensive damage, which will result in a multiple day restoration effort," the electric company said in a statement.

The severe weather also caused travel problems in the Chicago area.

At O'Hare International Airport, 350 flights have been canceled, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. The department also reported departure delays of up to two hours late Tuesday night.

Flights were delayed at Chicago's Midway Airport for up to two hours due to rain and thunderstorms, according the the city's aviation department. Thirty flights were canceled at that airport.

CNN

2 Chicago police officers face sexual assault investigation

Two Chicago police officers are accused of playing strip poker and sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman. STORY HIGHLIGHTSChicago police suspend officers pending investigationChicago TV station WLS reports officers assaulted a 22-year-old womanThe station cites a police report that states woman initially agreed to sex and strip pokerThe woman later ran from her apartment screaming for help, WLS reportsRELATED TOPICSChicagoCriminal InvestigationsRead more about this story from CNN affiliate WLS.

(CNN) -- Two Chicago police officers are under investigation for alleged sexual assault and have been "relieved of their police powers," according to a statement released Thursday by the city's police department.

Chicago's top law enforcement officer on Thursday called their actions "inappropriate."

"You can't justify it," Chicago Police Superintendent Terry Hillard said Thursday. "What they did, allegedly have done, was inappropriate and was against the law."

Investigators refused to provide further details about the incident. However, CNN affiliate WLS-TV reported Thursday that the alleged attack on a 22-year-old woman took place Wednesday morning after she accepted a ride home from the on-duty officers.

WLS attributed the information to a police report on the incident.

According to the report cited by WLS, the woman initially did not reject sexual advances from the officers. The report stated that the woman had sex with one of the officers in the passenger seat of a department SUV.

The three later played strip poker at her apartment, according to the report cited by WLS. The woman told investigators she was too afraid at first to refuse sex with the officers, but later ran out of the apartment screaming for help, according to the report cited by WLS.

Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Tom Byrne told reporters that neither officer has been charged.

"At this point in time it is an active ongoing criminal investigation, but we also need to have the evidence worked up prior to any charging," Byrne said.

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